Brasic might be glad to let Williams do the snapping when OSU gets their hands on him.osugrad21;611617; said:
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So let's talk about the most exciting player left for the Buckeyes before Michigan - Illinois freshman quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams. He's a Chicago player Ohio State considered before winding up with Antonio Henton in its 2006 recruiting class.
"He's going to be a good one," OSU coach Jim Tressel said after watching film of Williams against Iowa. "He wasn't ready for Iowa. It will be valuable learning for him though."
Williams put the learning to use against the Spartans. He's still making his share of mistakes, obviously, but he's already thrown three touchdowns of 65 yards or longer, more than any quarterback in school history. Saturday, he dropped a shotgun snap, picked up the loose ball, rolled out and completed a sideline pass that turned into a 69-yard score. He threw for 122 yards and rushed 17 times for 103 yards. Not bad for his second career start.
"Right now, there's just a ton of confidence going through my body," Williams told the Decatur, Ill., Herald & Review newspaper. "My team is praising me. It's just a great feeling right now. Pretty much the nerves are gone."
So let's talk about the most exciting player left for the Buckeyes before Michigan - Illinois freshman quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams. He's a Chicago player Ohio State considered before winding up with Antonio Henton in its 2006 recruiting class.
"He's going to be a good one," OSU coach Jim Tressel said after watching film of Williams against Iowa. "He wasn't ready for Iowa. It will be valuable learning for him though."
Williams put the learning to use against the Spartans. He's still making his share of mistakes, obviously, but he's already thrown three touchdowns of 65 yards or longer, more than any quarterback in school history. Saturday, he dropped a shotgun snap, picked up the loose ball, rolled out and completed a sideline pass that turned into a 69-yard score. He threw for 122 yards and rushed 17 times for 103 yards. Not bad for his second career start.
"Right now, there's just a ton of confidence going through my body," Williams told the Decatur, Ill., Herald & Review newspaper. "My team is praising me. It's just a great feeling right now. Pretty much the nerves are gone."
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No looking back for Juice, Illini
Recent losses hurt, but frosh QB learning, keeping eye on future
October 19, 2006
BY HERB GOULD Staff Reporter
CHAMPAIGN -- In the gloom of another lost Illinois season, Juice Williams allows himself to daydream about a time when the Illini will find happiness on Saturdays. But only briefly.
''Every day I look ahead and imagine what it can be in a couple of years,'' said the true freshman quarterback, who's toiling under an uncertain spotlight. ''But right now, I figure that wouldn't be fair to the seniors. You can't base your career on what you plan on happening. You want the results right now.''
Coming off losses at home to Indiana and Ohio by a combined five points -- and with a seemingly insurmountable three-game stretch coming up against Penn State, No. 21 Wisconsin and No. 1 Ohio State -- Illinois (2-5) seems destined for more disappointment.
But Williams is hanging in there.
''He may get down for a hot second, but he regroups real fast,'' junior wide receiver DaJuan Warren said. ''We'll tell him to keep his head up, and he'll tell us to keep our heads up. He's our leader.''
The whirlwind from Chicago Vocational even is looking forward to being thrown to the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley and learning in the cauldron of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium the next two weeks.
''Both places are tough to play,'' Williams said. ''There's the noise level, the people saying hateful things. It's going to be extremely difficult to go in there as a freshman quarterback.
''I basically want to get it done, get it under my belt, so I know what to expect the next time. I want to keep learning about going into different environments. I just want to keep learning.''
For a freshman who keeps getting back up after being knocked down, there's no better mantra.
''That's one of his biggest strengths, that he has a lot of confidence in himself,'' offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said. ''That's where youth serves you well. He doesn't know how to react other than to come back [and say], 'I made a mistake, I'm going to come back and try to make a play.'''
Williams has a bunch to learn.
Illinois' stumbles haven't helped. Entering the season, the Illini's best chances to win shaped up against nonconference opponents Eastern Illinois, Syracuse and Ohio, plus Big Ten rival Indiana.
Instead of going 4-0 against that group, Illinois went 1-3. Looking back, the 23-20 upset victory at Michigan State made the other losses even tougher to swallow.
''We thought the big win against Michigan State would give us momentum,'' Locksley said. ''With these young guys we're playing, every game is a new game. Every Monday, it's like starting from scratch. It's painful. ... We just have to work through it.''
For Williams, the challenge is to master the offense and get away from broken plays. Playground stuff looks great when it works, but it will be tough to make it work at Penn State and Wisconsin.
''Isiah [Williams] is making a lot of plays out of things that aren't there,'' Locksley said. ''Things are breaking down, and he's using his feet and his arm strength to make some plays.
''We have to find a way to get him to make plays within the scheme of our offense. That's when we'll be able to have the success we'd like to have offensively. That takes everybody surrounding him to play up to their ability.''
That might be a longer way off for the supporting cast than for the gifted Williams.
No looking back for Juice, Illini
Recent losses hurt, but frosh QB learning, keeping eye on future
October 19, 2006
BY HERB GOULD Staff Reporter
CHAMPAIGN -- In the gloom of another lost Illinois season, Juice Williams allows himself to daydream about a time when the Illini will find happiness on Saturdays. But only briefly.
''Every day I look ahead and imagine what it can be in a couple of years,'' said the true freshman quarterback, who's toiling under an uncertain spotlight. ''But right now, I figure that wouldn't be fair to the seniors. You can't base your career on what you plan on happening. You want the results right now.''
Coming off losses at home to Indiana and Ohio by a combined five points -- and with a seemingly insurmountable three-game stretch coming up against Penn State, No. 21 Wisconsin and No. 1 Ohio State -- Illinois (2-5) seems destined for more disappointment.
But Williams is hanging in there.
''He may get down for a hot second, but he regroups real fast,'' junior wide receiver DaJuan Warren said. ''We'll tell him to keep his head up, and he'll tell us to keep our heads up. He's our leader.''
The whirlwind from Chicago Vocational even is looking forward to being thrown to the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley and learning in the cauldron of Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium the next two weeks.
''Both places are tough to play,'' Williams said. ''There's the noise level, the people saying hateful things. It's going to be extremely difficult to go in there as a freshman quarterback.
''I basically want to get it done, get it under my belt, so I know what to expect the next time. I want to keep learning about going into different environments. I just want to keep learning.''
For a freshman who keeps getting back up after being knocked down, there's no better mantra.
''That's one of his biggest strengths, that he has a lot of confidence in himself,'' offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said. ''That's where youth serves you well. He doesn't know how to react other than to come back [and say], 'I made a mistake, I'm going to come back and try to make a play.'''
Williams has a bunch to learn.
Illinois' stumbles haven't helped. Entering the season, the Illini's best chances to win shaped up against nonconference opponents Eastern Illinois, Syracuse and Ohio, plus Big Ten rival Indiana.
Instead of going 4-0 against that group, Illinois went 1-3. Looking back, the 23-20 upset victory at Michigan State made the other losses even tougher to swallow.
''We thought the big win against Michigan State would give us momentum,'' Locksley said. ''With these young guys we're playing, every game is a new game. Every Monday, it's like starting from scratch. It's painful. ... We just have to work through it.''
For Williams, the challenge is to master the offense and get away from broken plays. Playground stuff looks great when it works, but it will be tough to make it work at Penn State and Wisconsin.
''Isiah [Williams] is making a lot of plays out of things that aren't there,'' Locksley said. ''Things are breaking down, and he's using his feet and his arm strength to make some plays.
''We have to find a way to get him to make plays within the scheme of our offense. That's when we'll be able to have the success we'd like to have offensively. That takes everybody surrounding him to play up to their ability.''
That might be a longer way off for the supporting cast than for the gifted Williams.
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bigtenuofIfb
Freshman
So after watching him all this year (how much you had a chance to) and no, not talking about his "bobble" head, how good do you think this kid can actually be? He had some pretty impressive games and he had some ugly ugly games.
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bigtenuofIfb;684287; said:
I think Juice has all of the physical tools but its hard to tell the difference between freshman jitters and glaring weaknesses right now.
While Juice will improve next year, I think the biggest task is the Illinois offensive staff designing their offense around what he can do right now.
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bigtenuofIfb
Freshman
perfectly said 21. They need to implement a Offensive scene that fits his game right now that plays into his strenghs. Don't make the kid try to do to much and do the things he's not comfortable doing at this time. Freshman jitters? I it had some to do with it. I think he was overwhelmed in a lot of games at certain points of the year. Plus Illinois doesn't have a dang reciever who could catch his passes throughout the year. I've never seen a fb team drop so many passes. A lot had to do with him throwing the dang ball 98 miles an hour on a ten yard pass. Something he will learn with experience. As you pointed out about the Offense 21, I personally think if they can implement a Offense that fits his style, the kid can be real good. Illinois has another good QB coming in the 07 class, Clint Brewster. So I guess that could be good for him to have some competition.
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Buckskin86
Moderator
Champaign dreams
Illinois hopes to return to glory behind sophomore QB
Posted: Friday April 20, 2007 5:34PM;
Updated: Friday April 20, 2007 8:51PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/cory_mccartney/04/20/illinois.juice/index.html
Illinois hopes to return to glory behind sophomore QB
Posted: Friday April 20, 2007 5:34PM;
Updated: Friday April 20, 2007 8:51PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/cory_mccartney/04/20/illinois.juice/index.html
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llinois QB draws inspiration from McNabb
By Ed Barkowitz, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Photos
click to enlarge
Juice Williams
Getty Images
CHICAGO ? When Illinois quarterback Juice Williams is feeling a little down, he can lean on an old friend who will understand.
This old friend went to high school near Williams' Chicago Vocational. He, too, was a quarterback for a Division I school in a major conference. Perhaps you've heard of him ... Donovan McNabb.
"He's a big brother/uncle, a mentor," Williams said. "He's a guy I've known for many years. He's very similar to how I play football and how I am off the field: very cheerful, very humble and wants to win. He's a dynamic player and a guy I look up to."
Williams and the Illini are coming off a disappointing 5-7 season, failing to qualify for the postseason a year after representing the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. The expectations for 2008 were never met, and Williams thinks he knows why.
"I definitely put a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself," he said. "Now that I look back on it, I shouldn't have even thought about it. I should have just had fun with the game and cherished it."
If there is a sleeper in the Big Ten this year, Illinois could be it. And it won't take long to figure out.
A trip to Ohio State on Sept. 26 starts a run against the conference's top three teams. Penn State visits Memorial Stadium the following week and Michigan State the week after that.
"I love our schedule," Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn said. "I think it sets up that we can show people what kind of team we can be."
A lot of that showcasing will depend on finding consistency from a running back and on Williams cutting down his interceptions.
Cont...
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